Product Description

The wooden rods mixed are stacked into the large opening of the block. The players take
turns attempting to push as many wooden rods out of the block as possible without causing
the other rods above to slip. The rods that are successfully removed without disturbing
the other rods score points at the end of the game--the thicker rods of course score more,
but require greater skill and luck to remove.

Product Reviews

Theta is a German company that makes big games with nice wooden
components. Their price matches the quality, as each of their games
will set you back about $50. Most of the games fall into the
"dexterity" category, and they claim that you'll only unbox the game
once since they look so good out of the box. They do look good, but if
you display them it will probably be because the boxes do not fit well
on normal sized bookshelves. Some of the games are excellent, while
others look better than they play. For the uninitiated, here is a
review of the Theta games:

Headquarter

[page 04201#001548]jump to Headquarter review

Saturn

[page 07809#001549]jump to Saturn review

Cubicado

[page 07805#001550]jump to Cubicado review

Pusher

[page 04530#001551]jump to Pusher review

Tribalance

[page 04520#001552]jump to Tribalance review

Fire

Fire is a ``Jenga-style'' game where a series of rods in three widths are
stacked into the center of a wooden frame. On your turn, you try to
remove one of the rods without causing the pile to shift, and if
successful you keep going. Players score for the rods they removed, and
not surprisingly the wider rods are worth more than the thin ones. A
simple and not original concept, but it is still fun to play and creates
some interesting situations.

These come about principally when it is clear that you cannot remove a
rod without shifting the pile. You still must do so, but how the stack
is left creates either an easy or difficult situation for the next
player, and this requires a little thought. Like Jenga, Bamboleo, or
other games of this sort, you often are surprised to find that very
unstable structures can survive for quite a while until someone goes for
the one piece bearing all the weight. Not bad, but probably not worth
the price.

Handicap

[page 07807#001554]jump to Handicap review

Step by Step

[page 07808#001555]jump to Step by Step review

A Quick Summary

The eight games in the Theta collection share the common features of
quality wooden components, big boxes, great aesthetics, focus on
physics, and high prices. Here is a buyers guide for those interested.
The number in parenthesis refers to the "dexterity/strategy" mix, with 1
meaning only dexterity and 10 meaning only strategy: